Key To Success
by cuby18
Summary: We all heard about Artemis Fowl II coming from a family of well-known criminals. But what about women that married into said family? This is a story about Angelina Fowl before the alleged death of her husband, Artemis Fowl I. Because behind every successful man there is a powerful woman. And Fowls have always been successful.
1. Her First Feat

Her First Feat

Angelina took one last look at her plan and gave it a satisfied nod. Everything went as planned, she didn't forget anything and it was time to escape with her latest prize. Carefully folding papers up she checked for any incriminating evidence that she might have left in the room, despite it being highly unlikely. She was nothing if not careful. After making sure there was nothing left that could arise any suspicions about an unknown presence in the highly secured room in the Dublin's National Museum she turned toward the doors. Pausing before touching the doorknob she gave the room she was in one last fleeting glance and slowly turned the doorknob with her gloved hand while her other hand secured the elegant purse she held close to her chest. Carefully exiting the room she softly closed the door and locked the lock with her impromptu made key. Stealthy pocketing it she headed down the dark hallway while all the way listening for any suspicious sounds that would notify her of any foreign presence in the otherwise empty halls as guards usually stayed on the first floor during the night.

She successfully reached the stairs, climbed down to the first floor and inconspicuously sneaked past the guards and through the exit. Avoiding spots covered by cameras as she had learnt from the plans she had stolen three months previously she crossed the yard and finally rounded the corner. She exhaled the air she didn't even know she was holding. She did it. She actually did it. Everything went according to her plans. Exactly the way she imagined it. She would dance and cheer if it weren't unbecoming to her status. Besides, it would look rather odd to see a young woman that looked to be barely of age dancing along the street, dressed in a tailored dress with white gloves and in high heels. Taking all these into consideration she just took the clips out of her hair, making it descend from an elegant bun and falling down her mid-back.

She slowed down her step and calmly stepped into a phone box at the corner. She called a taxi and waited for it in front of a well-lit shopwindow. Occasionally she would cast a look to the side to see if there was any sign of impending danger. Once or twice she saw some shadows appearing at the removed part of the street but it looked like any wannabe thieves were deterred by a well-lit spot she had chosen and the fact that it was surrounded by high-profile hotels and fancy restaurants. Despite this, she carefully wrapped her fingers around a dagger that she kept concealed on her person at all times. End of ends, you can never be overly careful in Dublin (or anywhere else, really) especially when you are a young woman walking alone, especially at night. They were such an easy prey. She snorted at the thought of her being an easy prey – or prey at all – to anyone. Just thinking of the faces her father and brothers would wear if anyone described her as a prey or damsel in distress in their close proximity. They would probably die from laughing fo hard at the mere notion of her being helpless. Well, people did say that looks could be deceiving and looking at her wouldn't make a person think, wow, she is dangerous. She could kill me without abandoning her current position and she could do that in more than ten ways if she resorted to only using her dagger.

No, to any outsider it would only look as if she was just a bit nervous and scared with a way she was holding her purse close and with her glancing up and down the street, in a way they would probably interpret as her worry that someone might try to rob her. Well, she was a bit worried about having someone try and steal her purse from her as it would inevitably lead to the full police investigation. Such investigation would be probably a must taking into account her family high standing in society, but it would also mean a lot of questions that she would prefer to leave unanswered. Not just regarding her fighting skills and potential murder charges on her account (self-defense, of course, but you cannot be sure about the reliability of the whole justice system nowadays) but also questions about why she thought it prudent to defend herself (and her purse) with such force, the latter leading into investigation about what she carried in her purse at the time. Considering the circumstances the had brought her to said place it was better for all involved that she came home undisturbed.

She spotted the taxi coming down the street. It stopped at the arranged place and she carefully came near it. After confirming the details she sat in the back seat and gave the driver her address. She leaned back and enjoyed the view of Dublin passing by. She had always enjoyed exploring it even as a child. There was just something unforgettable about the way every part of it told a different story. It was always a completely new adventure, frequenting different quarters, searching for a particular shop or, sometimes, just reliving Joyce's Ulixes while following the footsteps left by the book in mind of every reader that had managed to navigate through its confusing labyrinth of thoughts.

She was awoken from her thoughts by the driver that notified her that they arrived at her destination. She quickly paid him and added a generous tip. Exiting the cab she took note of her surroundings and, keys in hand, stepped toward big front door made of steel forged into elaborate forms that guarded the front yard of her house in the city. While not nearly as luxurious as their mansions in the countryside it enabled her anything she might have wished for while staying there. She entered, locked the door and strolled down the path decorated with small animal structures hiding between the bushes with some big trees visible in the distant part of the yard.

Noticing the lit windows of the drawing-room she hurried her step. When she was just about to touch the bell, the door opened. Tall, dark man with a lopside grin was looking at her with curiosity burning in his eyes.

''So, sis, how was your trip?'' he asked her while at the same time taking her hand and closing the door behind her. Locking it he turned to her, eyebrow raised. ''Well? Not encountering any troubles, I hope.''

She looked at him with fake hurt. ''How can you think so lowly of me? You are supposed to be my favourite brother,'' she pouted. Then she grinned at him. Slowly taking off her gloves she enjoyed watching him squirm waiting for her to finally show him her prize. After finishing she paused for a bigger dramatic effect and slowly pulled out something wrapped in green silk cloth. Removing the hem of it revealed a long, shiny blade within gem-embroidered holder. ''What do you think?''


	2. I'm so not creeping down this corridor

I'm so not creeping down this forbidden corridor

Angelina made another step. Just three more steps and she would be safe. Just two more. Just …

''What are you doing?!'' stormed a voice from behind her. Angelina slowly turned, carefully keeping her face as innocent as possible when one gets caught stalking through the dark corridor in the National Library of Prague. The corridor that is off-limits for the public, of course.

''Me?'' asked Angelina. She looked at the security guard with her blue eyes wide open in the perfect mixture of confusion and surprise. ''I was just heading to the toilet. Isn't this the right way? Maps can be so confusing.''

Guard looked at her sharply, clearly not believing her words. Angelina cursed under her breath. It was time for her least favourite weapon. She hoped she could avoid it, but… it looked like it was inevitable. She started battling her eyelashes and toying with the long blond curls, courtesy of her wig that served as a disguise fort he times that she wouldn't be able to get scot-free just with the use of her family name. Anywhere but in Ireland, actually. Besides being a blond gave her certain advantages as people always tended to underestimate her – in those incredibly rare moments that she had to interact with them while doing something less than legal… while the latter was actually a pretty frequent occasion interactions were not.

''I always get so confused when reading these things. I couldn't find any English sign and then there was such a beautiful photo hanging there on the wall and I just wanted to get a closer look,'' she started babbling in heavily accented English. And then there was this beautiful chandelier and I got lost in all these hallways… How stupid of me,'' she giggled. She threw the guide a shrewd glance from behind her lashes. Damn. He still looked way too suspicious for her liking. Just her lack to be found by the probably the only even approximately competent guard in the whole building…

She was ready to start cursing when she realised that it just gave her a long-awaited opportunity to use her favourite weapon that she rarely got to use due to it being a bit too obvious. Well, extreme circumstances call for extreme measurements.

Keeping up her act of a confused but completely innocent person she snuck her left hand in her purse. She started feeling around with her fingers and quickly found the sought item. She tightly wrapped her hands around the handle and quickly pulled it out, immediately hiding it behind her back.

''Oh, is this Vltava?'' she asked with an eager voice. He turned to look at the picture when she struck. She brought a stuffed panda down heavy on his head. Upon the impact, it released a cloud of green smoke. The guard barely sensed anything when the cloud embraced his head and he dropped down on the floor, out cold.

Angelina looked at the scene with satisfaction plainly seen on her face. Then she suddenly stopped smirking when she remembered some small, but sadly very important detail. Green smoke? The smoke was supposed to be violet, it was in her favourite koala that she took everywhere with her. How on earth… she slowly looked at the panda. ''I'm so killing him,'' she started muttering. ''This was the last time I had let him anywhere near my equipment. He's so going to regret ever toying with my things…'' Her angry ranting was interupted when the guard started mumbling incoherently.

She looked at him. Despite the gravity of the situation she couldn't help snickering a bit at the sight of his face. His skin was already gaining green undertone and his hair seemed to have gained some wonderful dark green highlights that actually suited his chestnut hair. It still wasn't anywhere as good as her own combination of sparkles that covered the person from head to toe and refused to be removed for weeks. Oh, it was easy to remove parts of as it was her intention to leave her victims a little gift in the form of the sparkles that shaped into tiny patterns that were unremovable for months after they removed the rest of it.

However, there was no time to contemplate this there and then. She got her act together and started playing a good Samaritan that came upon hearing some commotion coming from the dark end of the corridor and her care for others simply forced her to go and check. She knew she was laying it on a bit thick but it didn't concern her all as much considering the fact that all her ''animals'' contained a little bit of something that made people dizzy and very impressionable for the first few minutes after they woke up, going even so far to make them believe her version of events before it despite it always clashing horribly with the version they remembered for themselves to be the real recounter of the events.

Therefore it was no hardship for her to make him believe her story to the point that he started thanking her profusely, completely forgetting the fact that he encountered her once before in the forbidden part of the library and was in the middle of berating her for it. She parted with him with one last smile and took away with a satisfied smile resting on her lips.

Another successful feat was behind her, she gained a new treasure to put on display at the next family meeting, and she also got to use one of her favourite toys. Even if it wasn't the one she intended to use. It meant that she had some unfinished business with her brother and that was something that always made her smile, especially since such occasions when she could retaliate for something he did in any way she wanted became incredibly rare from the moment their mother had forbidden it unless it was for something big after getting fed up with their constant pranks and the fact that she couldn't make a step out of her rooms without almost becoming a victim of one of their stray pranks.

* * *

I recently found myself without ideas fort his story… While I do have some ideas for future chapters, and of course for her meeting with Artemis (that is currently still somewhere far in the future), I'd really appreciate any ideas and suggestions you might have. And while I am afraid future chapters will be sadly far and between, reviews might make me write faster… Feedback is always appreciated, especially constructive criticism as I am mostly writing this for fun and to improve my writing. I'd also need some Irish surname that I could use as her family name. And maybe even a name for her brother. So, if there's any Irish reading it, or just someone that has a name in mind, I am open for suggestions.


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